There was a time when it didn’t take a spreadsheet to keep track of the dishes I’ve tried over the course of a year (2,614 of them, if you’re asking). Still, recalling this particularly delectable group required no technological aid.

Here are my 10 favorite dishes from Valley restaurants that I tried for the first time — and hopefully not the last — in 2016.

It’s a diverse mix that grabbed me for all kinds of reasons. Some dishes were prepared with incredible skill, some were brilliantly conceived and some inspired a kind of purely gluttonous adoration, but they all have one thing in common: They’re really stinkin’ good. Presented in alphabetical order, here they are my top 10, followed by 10 honorable mentions.

Bamboo-Wrapped Beef Tongue at Yasu Sushi Bistro

Those who harbor misgivings when it comes to tongue would do well to give chef Yasu Hashino’s take a try before writing off one of the most flavorful cuts of beef available. Silky and tender, it’s bathed in sweet miso, wrapped in a bamboo leaf and smoked right on the tabletop. The scent unleashed when you unwrap the leaf is nothing short of primal.

This summer, Kevin Binkley sent his Cave Creek restaurant off in style with his annual tomato dinner. The cherry tomato ceviche — a cool, sweet presentation with raw spot prawns, corn and sea beans, and a splash of icy-cool lemon vinaigrette — was one of the most delicate and precise dishes I tasted all year. It was a fitting finale for a local legend that only whet my appetite for the new, rebooted Binkley’s in Phoenix.

They aren’t the most overtly sophisticated item on the menu, but these meaty little buggers stole my heart anyway. At the leading edge of what appears to be a crispy meatball trend, their tender, juicy, ginger-scented mantle is surrounded by a delicately fried crust, which is topped with a pile of fresh herbs and chiles and paired with sultry, creamy green curry. There’s more balance and technique at work here than first meets the eye.

Fileja with Cinnamon Roost Farms Lamb Ragu at Tratto

I could have filled an entire list with favorites from Tratto, and limiting myself to one selection was an exercise in masochism. But for today, the memory I can’t shake is that of Tony Andiario’s thick, chewy pasta smothered with a liquefied lamb ragu so intense and spicy it almost reminded me of a Pakistani lamb nihari. I’m guessing that’s not the connection Chris Bianco and Andiario were shooting for, but it was a glorious target to hit.

Fragrance Eggplant at Chengdu Delight

I used to make mental notes of dishes that could save my life when it’s 115 degrees outside. Now, I just take actual notes. And there on my screen, in blazing neon green, is Chengdu Delight’s fragrance eggplant, melt-away tender batons of icy-cold eggplant dressed in a refreshingly punchy sauce of garlic, soy, sesame and vinegar. I trust that I’m maintaining a healthy 98.7, but slurping down a plate of this eggplant feels like it drops my core temperature a good 20 degrees.

Hot & Sour Lamb Dumpling Soup at Shaanxi Garden

So, who had Shaanxi as the obscure regional breakout cuisine of 2016? Maybe we should have seen it coming. Delicious morsels from all corners of China are popping up so quickly in the East Valley that it’s impossible to keep track of them all. But my favorite dish at Shaanxi Garden — the restaurant previously known as House of Egg Roll — was a beautifully balanced bowl of gently sour broth filled to the brim with tender lamb dumplings. It’s comfort food, Shaanxi style.

Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza is on a mission to expand the Valley’s perceptions of Mexican cuisine, and the impressively creative and refined menu de degustación at Barrio Cafe Gran Reserva does just that. Tender sous vide duck with silky sweet carrot puree and a subtly spiced mole made with cranberries is one of the strongest local statements that Mexico does fine dining just as well as anybody else.

Rajas Gordita at Tacos Chiwas

Of course, there’s nothing at all wrong with melted onions and peppers seductively lounging with beans and cheese inside of a tender, steamy flour gordita. The tacos at Tacos Chiwas — particularly the tripe — are mighty fine, but this little pocket of Chihuahuan soul food is the dish that quietly takes my breath away every single time.

Chef Christopher Gross will tell you the secret to sweetbreads is to go the painstaking route of removing the membrane without simmering them first as most do, thereby saving the flavor for the plate rather than losing it to the pot. Even if I were inclined to protest (I’m not), this dish would have immediately invalidated my argument. Gross’ sweetbreads are gorgeously delicate, barely crisped in chicken fat and served with a rich cognac cream. While it’s possible I’ve had their equal, I sure can’t remember it.

Sometimes, we’re a little too quick to sort Italian cuisine in the United States into two bins: clean, minimal traditional Italian on the left; bold, saucy Italian-American on the right. What struck me about chef Gio Osso’s timballo is that it refused to be chucked into either box, a lusty American-style dish of layered flavors arranged with a sneaky amount of care and precision. A stratified mix of light crepes, rich ragu, ‘nduja and caciocavallo cheese with an oven-crisped cap, it combines Italy’s precision with America’s moxie.

#5 Soppressata Sandwich at Leoni’s Focaccia

The sandwich fillings at Leoni’s Focaccia are excellent, but it’s the spongy focaccia that’s truly dangerous. I made the mistake of taking a bag home and polished off six slices in one sitting. Not proud.

Cordelia Mignulata at Lamp Cafe

Listing a revised version of a dish I first tasted years ago may be taking advantage of a technicality, but I’ll use any excuse I can to preach on behalf of Matt Pilato’s layered Sicilian bread, now filled with potatoes and salty speck.

It takes a brain like chef Josh Hebert’s to combine melon, anchovies, roasted turnips, white asparagus and pumpkinseed oil into a gorgeously sweet and salty concoction that sounds haphazard until you taste it.

Nam at Smile Lao Thai

Most Thai restaurants in Phoenix leave me cold, but Smile Lao Thai offers a small handful of delectable Lao dishes, including this fragrant mix of chicken, lightly crisped rice and sour sausage, wrapped in lettuce to eat.